The Joy of Reading
by tohru-chan62442
Summary: Kurt doesn't see what's so great about the library-until he gets there, that is. Kid!Kurt/Kid!Blaine.


**So just to clarify: I can write a 5-page story in a little over 2 hours, but it takes me literally all night to write a 4-page paper? Not to mention the fact that I still haven't cleaned my dorm room when I said I would about a week ago. PROCRASTINATORS UNITE!**

**Alright, so this all started because in my Film Studies course we watched a French movie called 400 Blows. I still have no idea what the title has to do with anything-it's just about a delinquent kid. No, really, does anyone know? But anyway, there was this certain scene where-oh, right, I can't say it cause it'll give away the story. But it was SO UNBELIEVEABLY UNFAIRLY CUTE that I almost died right there in the screening room, and I immediately thought of little Kurt and Blaine, cause I have a problem.**

**So I had the ending for this story, but had to come up with the premise and write realistic little kid dialogue and research books and birthdays and then actually write the story, all of which only took me, as I said, a little over 2 hours. And I still haven't done my homework. One man's bad decision is another man's fluffy Klaine story, it seems. Even though I'm female. Oh well.**

**And I know you guys who read my other stories are pissed because I uploaded this but didn't update anything, but I wrote this literally just now and figured I should put it up quick before I start second guessing myself. I'll update the others soon, promise.**

**Enjoy!**

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Kurt had never been to a library before, and didn't even know what it was. His parents had told him it was a place full of books, and he'd groaned-he already had to read enough for school.

But when they said that they'd have books about fashion, he'd had his coat on and was standing impatiently by the door within three seconds.

His dad had to stay behind to do a last-minute job, so his mother had driven him to the big brick building downtown.

And now he was here. He wrinkled his nose at the carpeting, but was otherwise impressed at just how many books there were.

His mom led him over to the brightly-colored Kid's Section. While the horrible carpet was still there, the walls were colored blue with clouds and rainbows and children flying kites in the sky, for some reason.

"How may I help you?" The librarian beamed at them, her blonde curls bouncing.

"Yes, where would we find books on fashion for this little guy?" His mom hugged him from behind.

"I'm not little, Mom!" Kurt huffed. "I'll be seven in two weeks!"

Because of this exchange, they missed the librarian's quizzical look at their request, but by the time they'd turned back it was gone.

"Right over there." She pointed to a shelf right next to them.

Kurt was already there, inspecting the spines.

"Mama, what does DIY mean?" He turned to her.

"It means "do-it-yourself". They give you instructions on how to do things."

Kurt's jaw dropped, and he turned back to the spine in question-_DIY Fashion_. Looking around quickly, as if to make sure no one was going to swoop in before he could, he snatched the book off the shelf and started reading it.

His mom chuckled. "Kurt, wouldn't you be more comfortable reading in a chair?"

No answer.

"Kurt?"

Still nothing.

"Hello? Earth to Kurt?"

Finally, she got desperate and made to touch his hair.

"Hey, no!" He shuffled away from her.

"Sorry, honey." But she was laughing. "It was the only way to get your attention. I said, wouldn't you be more comfortable in a chair?"

"Chair?" He asked, as if he'd never heard of such a thing.

She pointed to the huge (for a child) armchairs off in the corner.

"Oh!"

The two walked over, and Kurt plopped himself in one of the chairs.

"This is the comfiest chair ever!" He bounced in it a little.

Elizabeth smiled, but then knelt down so she was eye level. "Kurt, I'm going to go over to the adult section for a while, but I'll be back. Can you stay here by yourself for a while?"

"By myself?" Kurt couldn't believe it-only big kids got to be by themselves. "Yeah! Yeah, I can. I'll be good."

"Good." She started to walk away.

"Wait, Mom?"

She turned back. "Yeah?"

"What if I don't finish the book before you get back?" He looked longingly at it.

"Then we can take it home." She shrugged.

His eyes widened. "We can?"

"Yep. We can take home as many books as you want."

'_I love this place._'

And with that, Kurt dove back into his book.

Elizabeth laughed and shook her head as she walked away. '_He's so transparent._'

In all six-almost-seven years of his life, Kurt couldn't remember being this happy.

He had a small mountain of books at his feet, waiting to be read. There were books on fashion throughout the ages, books that let you complete pre-drawn designs, and more DIY books. He'd also picked up a few on hair care and plenty of fairytales. He was right in the middle of _The Twelve Princesses_ when someone said, "Hey, you!"

He looked up and saw a boy a little taller than him with short black hair and a smirk on his fat face.

"Why are you reading those girly books?" He sneered.

"They're not girly! They're cool!" Kurt insisted. "And shush, you have to be quiet in the library or you'll get in trouble."

"Whatever, the library lady's not here." He said dismissively, and Kurt noted, to his horror, that he was right.

"Well…they're not girly." Kurt hugged the book to his chest. "I like them, and I'm not a girl."

"Well, I think you are, cause only girls read girly books. I mean, this one's pink!" He held _DIY Fashion _between two fingers as if it were covered in toxic waste.

"Give that back!" Kurt lunged for it, but the boy took a firmer grip on it and held the book over his head. "That one's my favorite! Give it back!"

"You want it? Jump for it, Miss Girly-Pants!" The boy taunted.

"I'm not a girl!" Kurt jumped and jumped, but it was no use-the boy's reach was too high.

"I think you are! You even jump like a girl!" The boy laughed, and Kurt was about ready to cry.

"DAVID KAROFSKY!"

"Uh-oh." The boy turned around.

The librarian was storming back over behind a kid with a mop of curly black hair.

"I have told you time and again about how we treat other people. How do we treat other people, David?"

He grunted.

"What was that?"

"As we'd want to be treated ourselves." He recited.

"Now, would you like it very much if someone took your book away from you?"

"No." He groaned.

"That's right. Now, give the nice boy his book back."

David glared at Kurt, who was grinning-he loved when adults took his side.

He shoved the book into Kurt's chest forcefully, causing Kurt to wobble a little.

"Hey!" The curly-haired boy glared.

The librarian didn't look too pleased, either. "David Karofsky, you will sit right over there at my desk until your parents come to pick you up, is that clear?"

He scowled.

"Is that clear?' She repeated.

"Yes, ma'am." He glared one last time at Kurt and stalked over to the desk.

"I'm so sorry. He's always like that, don't take it too personally. Are you okay?" The woman asked.

"Yeah." He nodded. "I'm okay. Thank you, ma'am."

"Don't thank me, hon, thank this young man." She indicated the curly-haired boy, who waved shyly. "He saw what was going on and came and found me." With that, she returned to her desk to supervise David, leaving the two boys alone.

"Thank you for finding the librarian." Kurt started.

"You're welcome." The boy looked awkward for a second before suddenly sticking out his hand. "I'm Blaine."

"My name's Kurt."

The two shook hands, feeling very grown-up.

"What's that book?" Blaine asked after they let go.

"_DIY Fashion_. It says so right there, see?" Kurt pointed to the large letters, confused.

"Wait, you can really read?" Blaine looked amazed.

"Of course I can read!" Kurt was indignant.

"Well, I can't."

Now Kurt was confused. "What? How come?"

"My dad says they don't teach you how to read until first grade." Blaine explained.

"You're not in first grade?" Blaine looked like he was his age-was he _younger?_

He laughed. "No! You don't go to first grade when you're five, silly!"

_FIVE?_

Kurt suddenly felt big. "Well, _I'm _in first grade, and I'm going to be seven in two weeks."

"Wow." Blaine looked as if that was the most impressive thing he'd ever heard.

"Yep." Kurt was loving this-he had never gotten to be the big kid before.

"Read me something!" Blaine ran over to Kurt's pile of books, grabbing one in the middle.

"Careful!" Kurt ran over, but there was no need-the books had miraculously stayed in place.

"Read this one! What's it called?" He held up a book.

Kurt glanced at the cover. "_The Dragon Prince: A Chinese-_"

"Dragon prince?" He started jumping up and down, still holding the book out. "Read it! Read it! Please read it!" He seemed to remember his manners at the last minute.

"What's the big deal? It doesn't look that good." He looked at the simple outfit the human was wearing.

"But it's got _dragons!_" Blaine whined.

"So?" Kurt shrugged.

"SO?" Blaine almost dropped the book. "Dragons are the best! I want to be a dragon when I grow up!"

"Really?" Kurt was genuinely interested.

"Yeah! And if I can't be a dragon, then I'll be a rock star instead!" He grinned. "What do you want to be when you grow up?"

"A fashion designer." He answered.

"A what?" Blaine tilted his head.

"Someone who comes up with clothes and what they should look like and then makes them?" Kurt explained.

"How do you make clothes?" Blaine looked baffled, as if all his life he'd thought clothes grew out of the earth.

"Well…" Kurt looked at the DIY book. "Look here."

Kurt showed Blaine all of his books on fashion, explaining everything. It was so nice to talk about this with someone who actually seemed interested. Blaine was hanging on his every word and looking at the pictures in the book as if ordered to memorize them.

"What's that?" Blaine suddenly pointed to a picture of a man in a suit.

"That's a suit."

"No, I mean the thing around his neck."

"Oh, that's a bow tie."

"Bow tie." Blaine repeated, trying to ingrain it in his memory.

Before Kurt could ask, a man came walking into the Kid's Section.

"There you are, Blaine." The man said.

"Hi, Dad!" Blaine waved.

"Who's your friend?" He asked.

"Oh, this is Kurt! He's a _first-grader_!" He announced proudly.

"Hi, Blaine's dad!" Kurt waved. "It's nice to meet you!"

"Likewise. Um…" The man glanced down at the collection of books. "Are these yours, Blaine?"

"No, they're Kurt's, but they're really cool." He nodded.

"Quite an…interesting collection you have here." There was something off about the man's tone, but Kurt didn't think too much of it.

"Kurt?"

Kurt's head shot up. "Mommy!"

She inspected the area. "Well, I expected chaos, but it seems to be the good kind. I see you've made a friend."

"I'm Blaine, ma'am!" He waved, almost hitting Kurt in the face.

"Hey, watch it!" Kurt laughed, shoving his hand away.

"You watch it!" He shoved Kurt's side into the cushion of the arm rest, and the two began a mini wrestling match.

"Uh, we should-" Blaine's dad made to break them up.

"Oh, they're fine. Boys will be boys." Elizabeth laughed, then put her hand out. "Elizabeth Hummel."

"John Anderson." He shook, but still seemed to be deeply concerned about the boys.

Elizabeth got it immediately, sighing inwardly. She had hoped a new millennium would fix this, but she supposed it had only just started.

"Alright, boys, we're in a library, remember?" She reminded the two.

Laughing uncontrollably, they finally stopped and stood up.

"Come on, son." John took the boy's hand and began to lead them away. "We wouldn't want to miss the puppet show, huh?"

"Puppet show?" Kurt raised an eyebrow, confused. "I thought this place just had books!"

"No, they have all kinds of stuff!" Blaine suddenly got an idea. "Hey Dad, can Kurt come to the puppet show with us?"

"Well, uh-"

"Oh, doesn't that sound fun!" Elizabeth interrupted. "Does that sound fun, Kurt?"

"Yeah!" He grinned widely.

"Then let's go!"

The two hyperactive kids practically dragged their parents up the stairs.

"What does that sign say, Kurt?" Blaine asked when they got to the room.

"It says, 'Today: Little Red Riding Hood'." Kurt read it before looking inside. "Wow, there are a lot of people in there."

"Everybody hold hands so we don't get separated." Elizabeth told the two as the filed in.

Kurt grabbed his mom's hand and Blaine's, noticing that Blaine's dad wasn't next to him anymore. He looked to see him standing on his mom's other side instead. When did that happen?

They found a seat pretty close to the front and all sat down together.

"Do we let go now?" Blaine turned to the adults, who had let go of each other's hands.

"Only if you want to." Elizabeth shrugged.

Blaine turned to Kurt. "Do you want to?"

Kurt looked down at their hands. "I don't know." And he really didn't.

"Let's stay holding hands." Blaine nodded.

"Okay." For some reason, that made Kurt really happy.

The show was great and very funny-Little Red Riding Hood even beat the wolf up, which had the two boys rolling in laughter.

Towards the end, Kurt suddenly felt Blaine rest his head on Kurt's shoulder. It was unexpected, yet seemed natural, as did Kurt resting his own head on top of Blaine's.

All the books he could ever want, a place to read them, _and _a new friend?

Yeah, the library was officially Kurt's favorite.

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**I wish I could write tiny little oneshots, but I never can-they always turn into overly long ones. Not that you guys mind, I'm sure, but I could have spent that two hours doing things I need to do.**

**Film Studies did it.**

**I actually planned on Blaine having a P!nk backpack or something, but seeing as at this point her first album had only been out for a month and didn't include any of the songs people usually know her for, I figured it was too long of a shot. Plus, y'know, he's five. It would have been **_**so cute**_**, but alas, logic.**

**So yeah, I hoped you guys liked it. I don't know if I'll write other stories in this section, so don't get your hopes up or anything, but I wrote this and figured I'd share-someone will like it, after all. Please review and tell me what you think-I'm very new to writing these two, after all, and would certainly appreciate constructive criticism or just feedback in general.**

**Later, taters!**


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